Cos lettuce (also known as Romaine, Roman, and Manchester lettuce) is the only kind used for this favorite, easy salad with a glorious taste.

Maroulosalata: crisp Romaine lettuce salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 heads of Cos (Romaine) lettuce

8-10 spring onions, cleaned and finely chopped (bulb and stalk)

1/3 cup of fresh dill, finely chopped (or 2 tablespoons of dried)

3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup of high quality red wine vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons of crushed Greek oregano (rigani)

pinch of freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon of sea salt

Preparation:

Clean the lettuce, removing the stem and discarding damaged leaves. Separate and rinse leaves individually to remove any soil and debris. Pat dry with paper towels. Shred the lettuce using a food processor or by hand (cutting as thinly as possible). Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Whisk togther the oil and vinegar, add oregano, salt, and pepper (if using dried dill, add it now to the dressing).

In a salad bowl, combine lettuce, fresh dill, and spring onions. Toss with dressing and serve cold or at room temperature.

Yield: serves 8

Preparation tip:

This salad should be light and crunchy. The amount of dressing needed will depend on the size of the heads of lettuce, so don’t add it all at once. Add half or three-quarters, toss, and keep adding until the dressing coats the salad ingredients but doesn’t swamp them.